AVALANCHE
by just-my-addicted-little-self
Summary: It had been six months since Leah Clearwater left La Push, quitted phasing and broke off any contact to anyone. Now, her new life in the Rockys is once again turned upside down... by an avalanche! How come? Read for yourselves LEAHxOC
1. Leah

**A/N: ** Hey everyone!!! This is just a little something I came up with while writing my other fiction - I always felt kinda sorry for Leah and thougt she should get over Sam and find happiness... I hope you'll enjoy it!!! :D

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Leah (she's all Stephanie Meyer's) and the guys just popped into my head begging to meet her... ;)

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**LEAH**

They say you imprint by looking into your soulmates' eyes. In order to never imprint she kept her own locked on the ground wherever she went. Leah Clearwater hated what imprinting did to a werewolf. She wanted to have the choice, the choice whom to love, whom to be with until the end. The choice if she wanted to share her life with someone or not - and right now, she did not. There was no way she would allow herself to imprint on anyone.

Sam, her former alpha, had been of the opinion that werwolfs imprinted to pass on the wolfgenes in the best possible way. But even if this was the case for the other shapeshifters, it would probably be different for her, the first female werwolf known. She was no longer able fall in love with some random guy neither to give birth to a new generation of shapeshifters, let alone did she wish for it. Never would she pass on this cruel destiny to anyone. Especially not to those she would love.

Everything was different for her than for the others. She had noone she could talk to about her problems as in all the world there was no such thing as a second female werwolf. While many girls dreamed of being that unique, for Leah it meant being locked in her personal hell on earth.

When she used to still phase into that huge wolf, she hated it to death. Hearing Sam's thoughts, feeling his and the other pack member's emotions made her go up the walls. With joining Jacob's pack, it got easier but was still not very pleasant. After all the vampires had left again, for the battle against the Volturi had been won, there was no longer a need for Leah to stay in the area either. She took off on her own. Jacob had been opposed to it at first but would not order her to stay using his alpha voice.

Finally able to leave the place that used to be her home for the passed twenty years, Leah started running until she reached the border to Canada. There she slowed down a bit, phasing back to her human form from time to time in order to get proper food into her stomach. She was disgused by wolf food and would never get used to it. Strolling about she eventually reached the Rocky mountins. Near a little village, she phased back into a woman for what she planned to be the last time – no more shapeshifting, no more eating raw meat, no more pack mind, no more having no choice. Leah Clearwater was done. She would start over completely. Nothing could stop her.

ooOoo

Well, that was nearly six months ago. She had begun her new life living in the small village up in the Rockys. The people there thought she was a bit strange as she refused having any contact with them exept for her weekly purchase of food. Right in the begining she had isolated herself from everyone, just being on her own, dwelling in selfpity at first, then just not bothering to change things.

Leah loved lingering about the snowy countryside where noone would disturb her by accident. One time when she was wandering around outside, she suddenly felt the mountin beneath her tremble faintly. Without phasing, her senses were returning to normal, no supernatural hearing, seeing or smelling anymore. But this tremor was strong enough to jerk her out of her deep thoughts.

There must be an avalanche going down. With her mind lingering about this possibility, she abruptly realized how close by it was happening. Turning around she could see the lawine rolling towards her suddenly endangering a child that was playing not too far away. It must have strolled there while Leah had been caught up in her memories of happier days with Sam. Those always used to make her bitter. But it didn't matter now, the kid was in danger – if she didn't act, it would die.

Fear, helplessness and finally anger rippled down her spin until the feelings overwhelmed her. She couldn't help it but phase into the detested form of a slender wolf. Racing towards the child she did not care who might see her.

Leah reached the toddler and sought shelter last minute before the avalanche would burry both, the little kid and the wolf, beneath it. Shielding the frightened girl, she passed out from the amount of emotions and strength it had cost her to phase and run after the long pause.

"Leah? Leah is that you, sis? LEAH!!!" a voice screamed in her mind without being noticed by the unconcious she-wolf.

ooOoo

Lying there like this, she was eventually found. Leah still had not phased back to her human form when the snow was removed from her body... the three tall, muscular, bare chested men couldn't believe what they saw... a huge wolf crouched on the ground and a small girl sitting next to it her big brown eyes confused and frightened.

"Matt, what does this mean?" the quite lean guy tried to phrase his thoughts. He was completely caught off guard, not understanding what had just happened.

"I honnestly don't know, buddy... But before we figure it out, we have to get the child out of here, the search party will be looking for her soon enough..." The man who seemed to be the leader turned to the third, the shortest guy, "bring the girl down to the village, pretend to have found her somewhere else, and not burried by the avalanche, ok?"

"Will do", scooping up said toddler he left off running.

"But what will we do now?", the first one asked again. He seemed to be absolutly overstrained with the situation.

"Calm down, man, we'll take him to the cave, all right?!"

"So, you don't think it's a normal... you mean, it's like us?"

"Just look at him, he's way too large for being a common wolf. Give me a hand here, will ya?"

"But not as large as we are..." he kept doubting but obeyed quickly when he saw his friend's annoyed expression on his face.

With combined powers they lifted her in the air and carried her carefully to a near by cave where they rested her on animal coats and fures.

"Now, all we can do is wait for him to wake up..."

ooOoo

A little later Leah regained consciousness almost immediatly phasing back into her human self. What had just happened? Moreover, where the heck was she? She warily rolled onto her back, stretching her body when she noticed she wasn't even dressed. Abruptly everything came back to her: she had phased! All her caution throughout the last few months had been made invalid in one tiny moment, one wrong reflexive choice... why did she have to try rescueing that child she didnt even know?

"Oh, for crying out loud!" she cursed lowly but soulfully.

"Hey, Matt, I think it woke!" When she heard the deep voice from somewhere behind her, Leah unintentionally cringed and pulled the blanket lying next to her up to her chin.

She slowly turned around, just in time to see two huge men enter the room-like cave. One was smaller and slightly broader than the other who had an air about him that seemed painfully familiar to Leah. His curly hair was cropped and therefore barely touched his shoulders. He wasn't wearing a shirt, only cut offs that scarcely covered anything displaying his hard six pack, muscular tights and strong arms. Leah was shocked by how fast her heart had started pounting, by the mere notion of these things she had seen so often in her pack time before but had never looked twice at. Following her rehearsed habit she locked her eyes on the ground.

Having phased that recently had the major impact of improving her senses into the extraordinary again. This way she could clearly hear the deep intake of breath by the two men but before she could mouth her questions, her feelings, her confusion, they were joined by another guy, mutually huge and muscular. He immediately froze when his eyes detected the young woman on the animal furs.

"Is this...? A woman...?" his voice trailed off. His eyes scooted back and forth between his mates and the beauty on the ground looking completely dumbfouded.

After a wary pause the leader's rusky voice that sounded like sandpaper adressed Leah herself.

"Who are you, woman?" He could have called her a freak or any other name it would not have hurt the tiniest bit more than the accusion that swung in the word "woman".

"I'm Leah... who are you?" For the first time in her entire time she felt her own, usually so sarcastic voice tremble.

"Leah..." it seemed as if he was tasting the sound of her name in his mouth, " nice to meet you. I'm Matt, these are Ryan" he pointed at the lean man on his right without taking his eyes off her partially covered body, " and Brendan" he repeated the motion towards the short one who was just after arriving.

"I have to ask you this, Leah, what are you?" he continued again seeming insecure and vulnerable. Even if she had tried, Leah would not have been able to answer this question. She simply could not admit what she was, she could not say out loud that she was what she hated, what she had been trying to eliminate out of her mind.

When she stayed silent, the man that had introduced himself as Matt crossed the small cave with two big strikes, knelt down in front of her and lifted her chin so she would look him into the eyes. His eyes were like nothing Leah had ever seen before. They weren't just plain brown but a deep amber with golden sparkles and grey spirals in it.

To her it seemed like her entire world was breaking apart. She felt herself being disconnected from the ground, from reality, from time and space, like she was about to float away into the air but was held by a new power. A power that was stronger than steal cables, stronger than anything else that existed. For Leah the univers with all its turns and spins suddenly seemed clear, its symmetry perfectly plain – it all made sense now. She had found her personal centre of the univers.

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Umm, what do you think? Is it worth to be continued? Please, let me know!!!

Happy New Year to everyone!!! :D


	2. And What Now?

**AN:** OMG, thank you so much for all your reviews!!! I hope I won't disappoint you now... I hope you will still like this story!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Leah... and I told you about the others^^

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**and what now?**

How could it be that her world was now revolving around this man, this stranger that she did not even know? This could not be happening, could not be real!

Hearing the other two guys harrumph, she remembered that they weren't alone. Matt seemed to have noticed it as well, as he lifted his intense stare off her eyes, rolling back on his bales turning his face to his friends.

"Sit down" it was an order expressing such urgency that noone would dare to object.

"Matt, what happened?" the lean one, Ryan, if Leah remembered correctly, asked.

"I don't know, buddy, I really don't... I have never felt like this before..." His eyes shot back to meet Leah's once more.

"Yeah, you kind of looked... well I can't even describe it properly – you just looked really far away, pretty much out of it, if you know what I mean..." The short one's, Brendan's, voice trailed off.

Collecting all her courage, Leah spoke softly into the silence "I think... I think we imprinted..." Having said it out loud made it real. Something that had never seemed to be an option for her – according to Sam's theory and her own veto – had happened.

As she looked into three mutually confused faces, she took a deep breath preparing herself for their reactions to her thesis.

"Well, I have seen this before... I mean I have felt it through others, through my former pack members to be certain. Some of them imprinted... It basically means they found their soulmates, the one person who you want to spend your life with, who you would die for without hesitation, the love of your existence.... Well, you're getting the picture..."

"It's pretty big then, isn't it?" Leah only nodded in respond to Brendan's statement, she was too anxious as to what Matt would think of it. If he rejected this idea including her, it would break her. Suddenly the tears she had cried over Sam, the bitterness she had felt because of him and the pain seemed to shrink and shrink until they did not exist any longer. The only thing that mattered now was this stranger.

Matt eventually spoke up "So, if we... - imprinted, right? – then we belong together, don't we?" "I guess..." Leah replied warily.

"Well then..." a wide smile lit on his face "who wants some dinner?"

What? Did she hear right? He asked them to eat? She looked at him dumbfounded, then she bursted out laughing, Matt seemed to be a real werewolf, always hungry.

Seeing the young woman laugh warmed him right through. The only thing he knew, so many others were ambiguous and unsettled, at that particular moment was that he wanted Leah to be happy. But above all she needed to get dressed, as he suddenly realised she hadn't got any clothes on her. Therefore, he went to fetch some of his own while his partisans got the meat on the fire.

ooOoo

Wearing a pair of Matt's old cut offs and a barely worn shirt, eating well grilled meat and dicussing the current problems brought to them by the recent avalanche with complete strangers Leah could not recall when she had last been that content. She was not even sure why exactly she felt so at peace right there and then. Maybe it was because no one actually expected anything of her (as they used to back home in La Push) or because she finally found her position in the world, the place where she belonged, the one person she was meant to be with.

'Goosh, are you being melodramatic or what, Leah, where's your good old sarcastic self?' she thought to her self, though she could not help it but smile at her sillyness.

When they finished dinner it was quite late already, Matt sent the younger ones on patrol. As it tuned out Matt had been the first one to turn into a giant werewolf which was why he was in charge of the little triplet.

After Ryan and Brendan had left them alone – both grinning smugly – an uncomfortable silence filled up the cave. Leah could not believe that he would accept the concept of imprinting that easily and therefore she was uncertain what to do next.

Trying to get a harmless smalltalk going, she pretended to look around the place and eventually asked "Do you _actually_ live here?" A small smile curled the corners of his mouth.

"I _actually _do" he stretched getting into a more convinient position, "I used to own a house down the mountin in the village but when I first phased I did not feel quite comfortable there anymore. It was as if I had begun a new life. A life that would not fit the old place. I needed to start over... Does that make any sense to you at all?"

"As a matter of fact it does. It's kind of why I left my home and came here. It was not the right place to be, I just could not take it anymore..."

"You wanna talk about it?" She flashed him a short smile but said "Not really... well, not yet at least... maybe later, ok?"

"Sure, you know I wouldn't pressure you!"

"I know..." She sighed and looked at him gratefully, "...hey, maybe you can show me around?!"

"I'd love to" Getting on his feet, Matt offered her his hand to pull her up gently. Standing straight, they did not let go of each other's hand but interlaced their fingers. He led her out of the room-like cave into another, a smaller one. This one seemed to function as the bedroom and Leah recognised it as the place where she had awoken earlier on.

"This is about it: my sleeping berth and my living room where we just ate. Nothing fancy but it does the job" he smiled insecurely, desperately wanting for Leah to approve of what he called his home.

"It's great" she finally replied "but where is the bathroom and the kitchen?"

"Umm, as you know, I'm partly wolf and they don't need bathrooms, do they? Neither do they need kitchens... we feed of follow and red deer as well as of bears so they won't get dangerous for the peoply in the villages close by... It's easier this way, not as much of a hassle as collecting and heating up water for cooking and cleaning would cause..."

Leah blushed slightly, she didn't know whether it was because of embarrasment or anger. Here she she was, far away from home where she used to feed in her wolfform because of the circumstances, and once again she faced the one thing that sickened her most about being a wolf. Not wanting to reveal her disgust, she mumbled the first thing that came to her mind: "True... I suppose I should have known but I just havn't changed in a while trying to forget all about it..."

"Why were you trying to forget your destiny?"

'Destiny'? Oh, no, was he really one of those who were fond of phasing into giant monsters?

"Ok, this is quite a long story... we probably should go sit..."

And so they did, opposite each other, their knees touching, their hands still entwined. She once more took a deep breath to steady herself. Matt was giving her an encouraging smile.

"Back in high school, I fell in love with a guy called Sam. He was good looking, funny and nice but with a bad boy attitude as he was skipping school a lot. Everything was perfect but it all changed when my cousin Emily visited...Sam fell for her, he imprinted so he hadn't got a choice but to leave me... I was miserable and became quite obnoxious. I dealt badly with it but after I shapeshifted for the first time, things got even worse... Sam was my alpha and though he tried, I would see pictures of him and Emily, feel what he felt... I was the other's worst nightmare to run patrol with... They hated me! Well, long story short, our second in command walked out on Sam as his friend who he fancied got pregnant by a vampire..." she couldn't help but laugh when she saw Matt's expression go blank "I'll explain later" she promised "anyways, Jacob, our second in command, left the pack, my brother and I joined him as did two others. From then onwards it was easier for me but with nearly all of the guys imprinting it was soon unbearable again and when the vampires had left I no longer had a reason to stay so I took off... I was tired of the pack mind and of all the other things phasing had done to my body, so I stopped, simple as!"

"And once again you have me flabbergasted, Leah" Matt smiled amazed "I always thought, it would only be the three of us being werwolfs and all... I would have never believed that there are even female wolfs!"

"Well, it's just me..."

"Just you? Are you sure?"

"Definately, our legends never mentioned anything freaky like me..."

"Yous have legends, like real ones?" Great, he seemed to be really into this whole wolf business.

"You were having a hard time adjusting then, weren't you? Being one of a kind, with the guy who had left you in your head all the time...?" Matt lightly placed his arm around her shoulders wanting to comfort her.

"I used to... and I was giving the others a hard time, too, I was quite the bitch I guess..."

"What made you change?"

"Nothing... until this afternoon I hadn't coped with it, remember? I refused phasing... but then the avalanche happened... and you" She smiled shyly at the over sized, handsome man that was so close to her that she could hear his heart beat... slightly quicker than it was normal. In order not to get the mood too tense she changed the subject.

"Now, it's your turn, tell me about your, life, your childhood, your family!"

"Well, there's not much to tell... I was an only child, lived down there in the village with my parents. They were the kindest people I ever got to know. When I was 19, on my way to become a proper mechanic, they died in a car accident... The person that drove the other car was a hit-and-run-driver. After the police officer told me I got so angry that I finally could not control myself which led to my phasing for the first time. To be honnest, I was terrified when it happened... "

"That was the reason? You became angry? That's strange, back home the boys only started changing because of the arriving vampires for they were supposed to be a threat to our people..."

"Really? Well, I guess there is a lot that we don't know yet, such as the reasons for phasing and imprinting... But what is the story with those vampires anyway?"

"Oh, believe me, you don't want to know – they smell horrible..." she made a disgusted face.

"Believe me, I do!" He grinned.

ooOoo

Having talked for hours Leah finally fell asleep curled up on the ground, her head rested in Matt's lap. He kept lightly stroking her hair, twirling strand after strand of it around his fingers. For the first time since becoming a werwolf, he felt entirely at peace. Though he was not quite sure how imprinting worked exactly or especially because he didn't know, he was pondering about the future.

Did this beautiful woman feel the same way for him? According to her narration it was to be expected but what if she changed her mind? What if she decided she wasn't in love with him? What if she left him behind and returned home? He would die of a broken heart, of that he was sure. Hence he had to convince her to stay! However, he had only known her for a few hours and therefore was not sure how to accomplish this. The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became.

His uneasiness eventually woke Leah in the early morning hours.

"What are you brooding about?" she asked slightly annoyed but mostly anxiously.

"Nothing, Leah, it really isn't important..."

"Matt, I can tell there's something on your mind. So please talk to me, we won't be able to build up a relationship when we're not honnest to each other..." her voice was faiding towards the end as she wasn't certain how much of her feelings she could or should reveal.

"So, you actually want to build up a relationship with me? You won't be running off as soon as the sun rises?"

"Why would I do such thing?" She frowned at the person who was supposed to be the one for her and suddenly started to have doubts as well.

"I dunno... I guess I'm just afraid to scare you off with my feelings...it's so new and all going so quickly... though it feels right, doesn't it?"

"I have never been big on melodrama and stuff like that but to be straight with you – I'm just as scared of this as you seem to be. Though I witnessed my former pack members imprint I was not prepared for imprinting myself, I was certain it would never happen to me! Especially not with another werwolf... It's like a double imprint, something I have never heard of..." and after a short pause she added "but yes, it does feel right! Sitting here with you makes my world seem complete."

"Good, if you feel the same way, I guess we can figure something out, can't we? And now, go back to sleep, sweetheart. I'm sorry for having woken you!"

Matt pulled her into her arms so she would be laid comfortably. Their bodies fitted each other's perfectly. As all werwolves Leah seemed to be able to fall asleep by purely wanting to, so she was all too soon snoozing off.

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umm, okay, disappointed? happy?please, let me know! criticism is appreciated as well^^

as Leah said it's kind of like a "double imprint" and if you ask me it should develope rather quickly because they both know they are made for each other...

So, what do you think? ^^


	3. Tension

**A/N:** Hey, thank you so much for your reviews!!! This one might be a bit cheesy... but at least the plot gets going...^^ Enjoy!!!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Twilight...

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**tension**

The sun was shining down on the snowy mountins. The icey wind was shoughing around the young woman that was only dessed in shorts and a worn out shirt. Her hair was tossed into the air, little snow flakes were dancing around her. Leah had gone to collect some winter berries and little animals that she used to catch with small traps. It gave her the time to think about how fast her life had changed in the passed few weeks.

From the day that they met onwards Leah and Matt had barely spent a minute apart. She had soon left the house she had rented in the village moving into the cave. It was strange for her not to have a proper kitchen or bathroom, to be forced to collect water from the river that was frozen over, close by and above all to phase again on a regular basis. But if it was all that Matt needed to be happy, she would get over herself and contently do so. When he was happy, she was, too. When she was happy, so was he.

Having witnessed how fast relationships evolved with one partner having imprinted, Leah was not taken aback by the speed theirs was developing. It was what you could call a double imprint and once they were both sure of their feelings being mirrored by the other, neither Leah nor Matt would slow things down on purpose. Having had enough hard times, the only thing they wanted was to get to know and enjoy each other properly.

This was best to be achieved by phasing together, sharing the inalienable pack mind. She had not been able to cut off the connection to Jacob's pack while she was without a new one she could belong to. But having found her right place, her soulmate and therefore the pack she was supposed to be in, her mind was cleared of any contact to Jacob, Seth and the others.

Leah immensely enjoied only having three wolfs being able to share her mind. Especially when she was never on patrol with anyone but Matt who himself barely phased when the others were, in order to give Leah her much appreciated privacy.

The four of them used to rather sit around a little bonfire with their newest companion telling all the old legends of the Quileute people. It soon became a traditional weekly get-together. They ate well-cooked human food which Leah insisted on, disussed current issues and events happening around the area, and tried to figure out in what way they were related to the Quileute wolfs. Afterwards Ryan and Brendan would leave, going on patrol or back to their homes down in the village.

With this clear line drawn between the couple and the two guys, Leah felt more at ease with her love life than she liked to admit. Just the thought of having her second closest friends and follow pack members be instantly informed of every intimacy between Matt and her, every step they took towards one another, every time they kissed or touched, made the young woman freak out because of embarrassment.

She liked it better that their first kiss lasted unnoticed for a whole 24 hours. It had been about a week after that unforgettable phasing. They had decided to shape shift together to share their minds completely. Later on when everything was said, or rather thought about, they sat down on a log in their human form. Numbed by the sheer amount of intimacy created between them having shared their best guarded thoughts and hopes, Leah and Matt fell silent. They sat close but particularly concerned not to touch one another.

When he could not take it any more, Matt suddenly jumped up and started pacing back and forth. After a while, he slowed down as if come to a conclusion.

"Leah" hearing him say her name seemed as the most wonderful thing on earth. "Leah, sweetheart" his sincere gaze made her melt like chocolate in the sun "I love you"

She instantly snapped out of her trance, this was definatly not what she had expected. Her eyes widened.

"I always will" he continued on "what we have just shared does not change anything but strengthens it. I want to spend the rest of my life with you; I want to make you happy, I want to be yours forever."

He looked at her expectantly. Leah did not know how to reply.

"You just made my day" she offered, quickly correcting herself "no, you just made my life! I would not want to trade what you just said for anything, never! You are my life now. I love you, too!"

His beautifuly face was graced by the most radiating smile she had ever seen. He quickly moved closer to her, tenderly wrapping his muscular arms around her firm waist and pulling her as tight as possible. His eyes locked with hers when he started to nuzzle the soft skin above her cut off jeans causing her heartbeat to break off and then to double its pace. His face was drawing closer and closer.

To Leah it seemed like an eternity until his lips eventually brushed against hers softly. This was what she had unknowingly been waiting for her entire life. She finally felt complete there in his arms, his warm breath lightly sweeping across her face, his tongue carefully caressing her lips.

Enjoying this way too much to stop they eventually found themselves standing in the dark as if glued together. They grinned at each other conspiratorially, locked their hands and walked back to the cave where they eventually fell asleep, their bodies entwined.

Yes, Leah was grateful that these aspects of their relationship were at least halfway kept a secret. It would be too embarrassing otherwise. She did not know how the other imprints coped with having everyone know everything about their sex life. Sure as hell, it could not be very pleasant.

Returning to her new home from collecting wild growing berries she directed her mind to the current issues of the area as she expected all the guys to be in.

ooOoo

When she entered the cave the tensed atmosphere took her completely off guard.

"What's wrong?" Three pairs of worried eyes and silence met her question. She turned to her soulmate knowing he would not deny her an answer.

"We might be in trouble" he sighed.

Leah laid the basket filled with berries down and sat next to Matt at the fire. She was all business now; problems had to be solved. "What has you think so?"

"Ryan and Brendan caught an unfamiliar scent on patrol this morning. Seems like there are other wolves stroling around the boarder of our ground. They are exactly keeping to the boundary, we doubt there are normal wolves... Besides, their scents are different, neither wolf nor human..." he trailed off.

"You mean they are shape shifters, too?"

"Yeah, honey, I think so"

"But why don't we just go and talk to them?" Leah asked confused.

"There are at least three different scents. We would probably be outnumbered or even at the best" Brendan spoke up for the first time.

"If there are really three of them, then we are not outnumbered, we're four in case you forgot" she started to sound a bit annoyed.

"Umm, actually, sweetheart, if we are to meet with them, you won't be coming along"

"WHAT?" she furiously stared at Matt "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm not having you put in danger. You know I couldn't stand it. You'll be staying here!" He stated coolly.

"No way! Who the hell do you think you are? Ordering me around like that...You don't have the right to..."

"Don't make me do this, Leah. I do have every right to tell – and the power to make - you stay behind! We won't argue about it, you will not come with us - full stop!" he finished with a growl that did not sound all too human.

"Matt..." she had not expected this. Would he actually use the alpha command on her?

It was like a hard blow in the stomach; it knocked the air out of her, numbed her, only so the pain would be even worse when it broke through. Her eyes filled with tears "why...?" She did not use to be the one who would start crying over little things like that, let alone accept a man's order that easily but she had changed and having her soulmate not wanting her with him, not trusting her enough on this nearly killed her.

His hand reached up curving around her face and whipping of the lonely tear that had escaped from under her eyelashes.

Was this to be their first fight? That would be just ridiculous. With an other pack of werwolfs having arrived and stroling around, they might not be save any more and did not have time for any stupid fighting. As long as it was unknown what the newcomers were up to, a disagreement had to be put aside and things sorted out.

But Leah could not put her pain aside, it was too strong.

She felt Matt pull her into his arms tenderly. " I'm sorry, honey. But I cannot have you put in danger – I couldn't concentrate if I didn't know that you were save."

"But, Matt, I won't be save without you. I can't stay behind. I'd worry myself to death." Her tears eventually ran dry.

"I am not going to have you there right away... but maybe, maybe we can find a way so you won't worry. And if they are friendly minded you can join us later, if they aren't you will stay where I tell you to stay."

"You know" Leah had gathered herself when she felt Matt resistance melt the tiniest bit "I have way more experience than you with fighting off the enemy..."

"And you know, you won't change my mind. We'll do it my way or not at all" he smiled knowing that he had won, placed a peck on the tip of her nose.

Sensing that the arguement was finished for the time being, Ryan spoke up "So... what do we do now?"

"Good question... I was about to ask the same, blockhead!" Brendan hissed sarcastically. They were both equally tensed, as they had family in the village near-by for which they were worried.

"Guys" Matt warned "We have to prepare ourselves for two possibilities: either they are only curious or... they are not..."

The four of them got down to drawing up a plan while Leah stressed that she would attend the meeting after all. She ad her pride, was no easy woman, obeying the man of her dreams – even if he was her soulmate – and angling her life to suit his alone.

They decided that the three guys would meet the newcomers – Matt refused to call them enemies when it was not sure whether they were – on a clearing in the woods where no humans would be at the break of dawn.

ooOoo

After Ryan and Brendan had left in the late evening, Leah got up to clean the rooms. She was not yet ready to face Matt. He would want to talk about her outburst from earlier. Though she knew it had been an extreme reaction, she had not been able to stop the tears or the pain and now she just wanted to forget about it.

"Leah" she heard him call from where their sleeping berth was.

"Yeah, umm, gimme a sec" she uttered back knowing he could hear her. Maybe he would go to sleep before she finished her unnecessary cleaning.

"Leah" his deep and tender came from right behind her, made her jump the tiniest bit.

"Jeez, you scared me" she attempted to brush him out of her way with a harsh motion of her arm.

"Nah, honey" his one hand caught her arm while the other pulled her closer, "you should have heard me, but you were too caught up in your remorse" he whispered into her ear.

Leah's cheek turned bright red. Why did he know her that well already?

"I'm sorry" argh, exactly the words she had not wanted to say escaped her lips so easily.

"It's okay" his hand started to caress the small of her back "I am, too. Shouldn't have been that harsh on you. Forgive me?"

"Always" how could she not anyway? Snuggling closer she inhaled deeply his earthy scent. Absent-minded she place a soft kiss on his cheast. As if in response a tremble passed through his body, a low growl came from his lips. Leah tensed.

When she looked him in the eyes, she could see his hunger, his hunger for her. His grip tightened. His lips crashed against hers. The flame sprung over, set her entire body on fire. Matt lifted her up and carried her to where the animal furs laid.

Adrenaline washed over her. She had not been intime to that degree with a man in a long time. Besides, exept for Sam there had not been anyone else, neither before him nor after him. She felt like a fish on land. But locking eyes with the man on top of her, she knew it would all be fine.

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and? what do you think?

I hope I could make up a tiny bit for being back in school today...^^


	4. What do you want?

**A/N:** thanks for all your lovely reviews - they mean a lot to me!!!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any recognizable characters...

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**What do you want?**

If it had not been for Matt moving right next to her, Leah would not have noticed that it dawned. She streched slightly.

"It's all right, honey" Matt's light, warm touch eased her movements and soon she was sound asleep again. Secretly rejoicing that it had been so easy to make her stay at home, Matt slipped out from under the furs, he knotted his cut offs on the leather band on his ankle and phased into his wolfform.

Ryan and Brendan soon joined him. The atmosphere was tense as noone knw what to exect from the strangers. They ran towards the clearing in amicable silence. When they smelled the unusual scents, Matt ran over the plan in his head. He did not want to risk anything. Slowly they entered the clearance trying to show that they came in peace. Matt, the huge chestnut colored wolf, led his two wingmen following right behind on each side of his flanks.

They had not even crossed half of the clearing when a big russet wolf – nearly as large as Matt himself – stepped up to them and growled. Even without hearing the words, it was clear he did not want them to come any closer. Matt sat on his hindpaws to signalize he had come in peace. Thought he was sure that his pack could take the newcomers down, Matt did not want to risk a serious fight, there was too much at stake.

He let his eyes wander over the group that they were facing. Relieved he noticed that he could not read their minds which logiclly meant they did not know what was going on in his head either. But at the same time it would complicate things.

Behind the massive russet wolf, there were three smaller ones, another brown one but with black spots and not as large, a black one and a slender sandy colored one. Something about the last wolf looked familiar to Matt and his pack. But they could not tell what exactly. Though it did not really matter, it rattled Matt.

The brown fured leader let out a friendly bark to get his attention back. When they locked eyes, an unknown mind conected with Matt's. It made him jump up a little. Shaking his head violently he tried to get rid of the stranger. While his mates were equally scared, the others were snickering, barely holding back their amusement. This only made the wolf inside him more furious. He stopped moving instantly, growling angrily at the enemy. Yes, he was sure they had come with no good intentions.

"Cool it, man" the unwelcomed voice in his head said again "we're not here to do you any harm!" it sounded a bit edgy but the wolf stayed seated on his hindpaws.

"What do you want?" Matt barked. He was tense. He wished they would just leave.

"How did you find us?"

"Your scents were the strongest here... Now, what do you want?" he stressed.

"We won't be staying long. We only have some questions... We are looking for someone" the other leader started but was quickly cut off by Matt's "It's only us – noone else! You better be going..."

"But we have discovered a scent that is familiar. The scent of the person we're looking for..." he tried to reason, while the sandy colored wolf could barely hide his growl.

"Well, then go and look in the village. People tend to life there rather than up in the mountins" Matt desperately tried to sound sarcastic and not involved. But there was no fooling the russet wolf as he soon noted.

"We've been there. She seems to have left the village; we followed her scent up here... it changed..."

It felt as if the blood in his veins turned into ice. As much as he had hoped to be wrong with his assumptions, he now had to admit that the newcomers were after Leah. Whoever these guys were, they would know her scent and have already recognized that it most likely lingered about him.

"What do you want?" he growled again, sounding even more terrifiing this time. His fur stuck out, he was on the edge to going crazy. He would protect Leah from everything; he would give his life for her. Ryan and Brendan sensed that their leader was agitated. So they drew closer making the other pack jump to their paws instantly. As they immediately formed a straight fighting line, they seemed to have much more experience than the little triplet.

'_Matt, what's wrong?'_ Ryan thought.

'_They want Leah' _was all the two others needed to growl, angrily and pained, ready to attack.

ooOoo

The sandy colored wolf launched forward.

Before anyone could react, a grey blur seemed to fly out of the woods from the left hitting the attacking wolf mid air and throwing it a few good feet away into a tree. Said fir splittered into thousand pieces.

While every werewolf on the clearing was completely dumbfounded, the slender grey wolf, composed itself and phased back, swiftly putting her clothes on again.

"What's going on?" she asked annoyed, more her old self than in a long time "Can you guys not sort anything out without me?"

Matt was the first one to recover from the sudden interruption. Quickly he phased back, pulled his cut offs on and ran over to her.

"Leah?" he still sounded troubled. "Leah, honey, are you okay?" he embraced her tightly.

"Take your hands off my sister, you dog" someone fizzed through gritted teeth.

Matt straightened up and faced the strangers that had also phased into human forms. He carefully eyed the obviously youngest boy who was helped up by his mates, one tall and slender, the other one a bit shorter and beefy.

"Hello, Leah" the leader adressed the young woman with a sarcastic grin "we were worried about you but I see, there was no need to be"

"No, Jacob, there was no need to worry, let alone attack my pack" her voice sounded harsh, angry, but Matt could feel a light shiver running down her spine, when she continued "What do you want anyway? I told you I'd leave and you promise to let me go!"

Jacob fell silent, he lowered his head looking like a puppy caught while doing something he knew was wrong.

"I felt you phase" Seth's hurt voice came from Leah's right, he stood a few feet away not moving but looking at her begging for sympathy "I was on patrol when I suddenly felt your mind... I saw the snowy mountins, the avalanche burry you and the child... I thought you were dead... I'm sorry for not regarding your wishes but I just had to know... You are my sister after all..." his voice got lower and lower until it finally died off.

A single tear ran slowly across Leah's cheek. Following a sudden impulse, she closed the distance between herself and her brother, pulling him into a tight hug. Instantly, the tension in the air broke, relieved smiles were plastered on anyone faces.

"Jeez, Leah, don't break me" Seth let out a shaky breath, trying to hide the relieve so obvious on his teary wet cheeks.

Leah took a small step back, smiled wearily and wiped her own tears off. "Sure thing, kiddo, you've always been the fragile one..."

"Yeah, kiddo" Jacob joined the bickering "don't be such a sissy".

He went over to Leah wearing a mocking smile and extending his arms as if to hug her, but she only punched him on the shoulder "When did you guys become all softies, hu, jackie-baby?" she mimiced his tone perfectly. The old sarcastic grin lit on her face for a short moment as the others drew nearer.

Feeling Matt's hand lightly touch her lower back, a serious expression returned to her face.

"Matt, I want you to meet my brother" she shot him a loving glance "this is Seth. Seth, this is Matt" while latter one extended his hand, the young werewolf just growled, "I told you to take your hands off my sister!" If glances could murder, Matt would have been a dead man. But he stayed polite, withdrawing his hand his back straightened up.

"I certainly won't. You'll just have to deal with it." He stated coolly. The others became uneasy. Seth started to tremble violently.

"You better back off, man" without super natural hearing noone would have understood a word Seth hissed through clenched teeth "I will not let anyone hurt her ever again!"

"Neither will I" how Matt could stay that calm, noone knew.

Having had a biting/ curish remark on his lips already, Seth froze looking confused "What you playing at?"

A gentle expression graced Matt's face as he pulled Leah closer. "I mean, I will never let anything happen to your sister, Seth, I imprinted on her."

A dangerous step. A forward statement. But the plain truth.

The world around them stopped. The wind broke off, the forest went into dead silence. No bird, no other animal was heard. Everyone held their breaths. Seth's lips formed a silent 'Oh', his eyes widened. The shock had numbed him.

"I need to sit" he chocked out dropping to the ground.

Suddenly Matt realized why the sandy colored wolf had looked familiar at the beginning. He just had so much in common with Leah. The same shiny black hair, the same slender figure, the same way to move. Hopefully Seth would also share Leah's admiration for him. Ok, not exactly the same kind but at least a sort of acception maybe even friendship.

"I reckon that's better than dead..." Embry's murmur brought him back to the clearing. All eyes were on Seth who was still sitting on the forest soil, not moving the tiniest inch. It was like he was a statue, pale under his russet skin.

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked the other werewolf confused. Embry looked up.

"Well, we thought Leah might be dead..."- Matt's stomack contracted painfully by the bare thought of that – "knowing she was imprinted on is better, kinda good actually." Embry offered the strange pack a nervous smile.

That seemed to make Seth snapp back to reality. At once he was on his feet "What the hell, are you talking about? It's as good as being dead! No difference at all!" His hands started trembling again. "It will break her. After Sam she won't do the same to anyone" looking at seven equally dumbfounded people he had to go into greater detail, a sudden urgency accompanied his words "what if Leah imprints? She has experienced herself how much pain being left by the one you love can cause. Knowing she had done this to someone else would rip her apart, she could never be completely happy..." his eyes begged the others to understand. While his pack looked embarrassed, Matt's pack only looked confused from Matt to Leah and back.

After a few seconds a huge smile spread over Leah's face "I had totally forgotten in what myterious ways your brain works sometimes" she let out a relieved laugh "Seth, I imprinted on Matt, too. Don't worry, everything will be fine. Noone will get hurt, I promise!"

His face fell into a thousand pieces and what had seemed impossible since their dad's funeral happened; a lone tear ran down his cheak slowly, the flame in his eyes seemed extinct. "Someone already did" he crocked before running off into the woods. Seconds later a heart breacking howl set everyone's teeth on edge leaving an ice cold, heavy silence behind.

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yeah, a little cliffy before the epilog...

how did you like it? any wishes that any one of you has for the last chapter?^^


	5. A New Leah

**A/N:** Hey everyone!! Thank you so much for all of your reviews - they kept me going, they enlightened days, **THANKS!!!** And I'm so sorry that I kept you waitin a whole week for the last chapter - it wasn't on purpose... just school and homework... and "Twilight" came to the cinemas this week - I went to watch it... 2x ^^ Thanks again, guys!!!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the recognizable characters... and you know, the three werewolves came to me begging to meet Leah ;)

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**A New Leah**

Leah and Matt led their pack and their new (old) friends to the cave. The cheerful atmosphere from only ten minutes earlier was gone. The ice cold, heavy silence continued instead. Leah could not be comforted by the consoling quietness of the others' thoughts.

Without any ballyhoo, they phased back, got dressed and entered the cave. In her wolfform, Leah had not been able to cry, let alone had she wanted to, but as a human being she could no longer hold back the tears. They kept escaping her eyes. At first slowly and seperately, then quicker and quicker, finally in a constant flow that could not be stopped.

Matt tenderly wrapped his arms around her. Stroking her hair, he tried to comfort her. He hopelessly failed. Leah's sobbing only got worse. "Why did he leave, Matt? Why can't he be happy for me? For us? I don't understand..." she managed to choke out in between. Panic began to creep up inside her causing hiccups and shivering.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, he'll come back... he'll wrap his head around it. Everything will be fine..." but Matt's voice could not convince her entirely. His muscles were stiff, he kept his eyes locked on the ceiling.

They were now seated around the little fireplace. But without the unneccassary though usual bonfire burning, the cave was cold, still, lifeless even. The werewolves' bodies were tense, their teeth gritted, their breathing shallow. Noone dared to speak. Not when there was nothing left to say.

Why had Seth taken off on them? Why had he not stayed to talk about it? Why was he not mature enough to deal with things as they were? Why had he turned his back on them? On his pack? His sister? His family?

Leah's crying eventually ebbed away into silence, only a muffled sob escaped her lips from tme to time. When she finally had a grip on herself again, the young woman struggled to her feet and began to move around without a certain reason or goal, just for the sake of distracting herself. Her eyes kept flickering back to the entrance, hoping against all evidence, her beloved brother would show up.

But she waited in vain.

The silence filling the cave was grave. Leah had been clear that she did not want the guys to chase after Seth, nor Jacob to use his alpha voice ordering his second-in-command back. Once, which now seemed like a lifetime ago, Leah had made the same choice, to run away, to turn her back on the people that loved her, to leave.

Therefore she knew how important it was that her younger brother would find the way back to her on his own. Otherwise it would be a useless undertaking to seek him out, to force him when he was not ready to deal with his sister's destiny.

"He'll be back, don't worry" Jacob's voice so close behind her should have startled her, especially as she had not heard him approach her, but she was missing any energy to react. She felt useless, cold, numbed inside.

Jacob was only inches away. He did not touch her. Neverless, she sensed his every movement, his breathing, his shifting, the up and down of his cheast, the bending of his head in anticipation. "I know him, Leah, maybe better than anyone else, he'll come around, I promise!"

"You should never promise what you can't keep, Jake, you know that" she answered dryly in a croaked voice.

"I certainly do, but this one I can promise because I know that he will."

"Why would you know that? You can't be sure either" No sarcasm. No irony. No nothing. This was a new Leah, a resigned one, one without hope. Hearing the pure, uncovered pain in her voice broke Matt's heart.

"I am sure, Leah, listen. When Bella married Edward, when she decided against me, I took off. I thought I couldn't stand it. I thought she had left me forever. But sanity won, I returned and the best thing of my life happened to me. I learned that she was my family, my sister in other ways than blood or love. I have never regretted coming back, especially since Nessie is there..." his eyes unfocused, became dream-like.

"Your point, Jacob" Leah reminded him. Harshly and annoyed, yes, but at least was there the tiniest sign of life, differently from the last time she had spoken.

"Oh, yes, sorry" Jacob blushed slightly "as I was saying, I learned that falling in love ,or in your case imprinting on someone else, doesn't mean leaving your family behind, never seeing them again. It rather means combining your old and your new family. Seth will figure it out soon – he's smarter than I am anyway, it won't take him that long."

She looked at him rather doubtfully, "Are you comparing my relationship to my _brother_ with that weird one you used to have to the vampire girl?!" her annoyance grew with every word.

Jacob raised his hands in defence and backed a few steps away. "No, 'course not! I'm just saying that he'll find out that your imprinting doesn't mean you're abandoning him."

"He thinks he lost me?"

"Haven't I?"

Leah spun around on her heels, a movement fast enough, it could not have been made at all.

"Seth" she breathed "oh, Seth, how can you say that? Of course you haven't lost me! Why would you?" rushing towards him with unhuman speed, she pulled him into a tight hug "you stupid little mutt, you" despite the harsh words her voice was loaded with love, an affectionate rebuck for what he had done.

"I just thought.... I mean, now that you've imprinted..." he began to stumble " you don't have any reason to come home... during the past few months I kept telling myself you'd come back, that you'd love us enough... But now, that you found him" as hard as he tried, Seth could not suppress a low growl in Matt's direction "you don't need us anymore..."

"Don't be silly" Leah scolded "you and mom, you two are my family! I've been missing you so much while I was gone – I'll never be that far away again! I'll visit, you can bring Mom here, we'll work it out, we're one family"

Definately a new Leah, but Seth did not mind. As long as he got to keep her, he did not even mind that moron that had imprinted on her. And maybe he was not that bad after all...

"Love you, sis" he mumbled.

"Love you more"

"Not possible"

"Sure is"

"Prove it" a provoking spark lit in his eyes.

Leah let out a short laugh. "Alright, I will... let me think... I'll name our first child after you – even if it's a girl" mockingly she punched him on the shoulder, as they rejoined the others, lit a fire and finally chatted about what had happened throughout the months spent apart.

ooOoo

The days flew by and soon enough it was only Leah and Matt along with Ryan and Brendan. It felt lonely up in the mountins without a whole bunch of over sized, childishly acting guys. Leah missed them – thought she would never admit that. She had been too soft hearted while they had been there, she would not become all mushy in general now.

But as much as she had enjoied having them, she was still grateful for the peace and quiet she could now relish. After all the mess the guys had created was cleaned up Leah found herself crashing on the animal furs.

Since she had awoken there what seemed like a lifetime ago, it had become her favourite spot. There, she relaxed. There, she slept at night. There, she cuddled with Matt. It stood for everything good that had happened in the previous weeks. On that particluar spot, her new life had begun. She had found her imprint and her new family.

Though she had long ago stopped to believe that she deserved a happy ending, she had been given one when least expecting it. The thought made her smile. The warm, bubbly feeling in her stomach overwhelmed her. She felt like bursting of pure joy.

Two muscular, firm arms wrapped around her waist from behind. Fingers started to caress her soft skin. His strong body pressed against her back. His hot snatchy breath tickled her neck. His soft lips began nuzzling her sensitive/delicate neck. It made shivers run down her spine. A low sigh escaped her lips.

Leah turned in his endearing embrace, drawing her arms around his neck. Her lips brushed tenderly against his. Matt responded immediately, tightening his grip, pulling her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist, and parting her lips with his tongue. A low moan rose in her throat.

Matt chuckled deeply "As much as I like your brother - "

"I don't really wanna think of my brother right now" she frowned in response.

"as I was saying: as much as I like him, I'm so glad he's finally gone..." he grinned playfully, seductively "it kinda did put a damper on our 'alone time'..."

"I know..." her fingers tracing the outlines of his shoulders, she had almost entirely blended out the world around her, marveling at his perfect body when Matt spoke again.

"Were you being serious earlier on?" all the playfulness was gone, a slight uncertainness in his tone. Leah pulled away.

"What are you talking about?" she frowned.

His hands drifted away, he withdrew from her completely. Though she knew that his insanely hot body temperature did nothing to her, she suddenly felt cold. What was going on? Leah had absolutely snapped out of her earlier mood, now rubbing her arms against the inner coldness creeping up, taking over.

"Umm, about... you know, about what you said to Seth the morning he came back..." his voice trailed off, his eyes refused to meet hers.

"You mean, that I'll visit them...?" the confused look on her face would not retreat.

"no..."

"You don't want my mother here?" now, she sounded slightly annoyed.

"No, no, I want her here... it's just... I wasn't sure, but..."

"Matt, spit it out already!"

He took a deep breath.

"Were you serious about having kids?" This caught her completely off guard.

"What?" Her eyes widened, her her heart beat picked up pace.

"I mean, if you weren't serious, it's ok... but you said to Seth you'd name our first born after him... it was jsut that... we never talked about it..."

"Do you want kids?" she spoke low enough so that human ears would not have comprehended it.

"I'd love to..." Matt replied sheepishly "but if you don't..."

Instantly, Leah's face was covered by the brightest smile he had ever seen. She rushed into his arms, beaming more and more.

"I do! I do! More than anything!" her lips crushed against his; their kiss impatient, passionate.

Having to stop for some air, they eventually broke the kiss, grinning at each other widely.

"But I do think that 'Seth' is not such a good name for a girl..." Matt mocked. She let out a clarion/clear/bellringing laugh.

"I do think so myself" she smirked.

"Glad, we have that settled" his voice grew lower. A playful growl escaped his lips when he bent down, briefly grazed the soft skin beneath her earlop, and swung her into the air.

"We should get started practicing" he waggled his brows suggestively.

ooOoo

A little while later, the two of them were laying lazily on the animal furs, their bodies entwined. It was so easy, so natural. Their bodies seemed to be made to fit each other. Probably, it was even the case. They were soulmates, born for one another.

Leah's thoughts started wandering again, to the past, to the future. Sometimes, it was still hard to believe that all of this happened, that her life had taken such a sharp turn. The miserably, bitchy Leah had become a loving, happy woman. No more sarcastic remarks, that hurt the people around her. No more misery. No more loneliness. She was complete now.

"And all of that just because of one simple avalanche..."

Leah had not meant to speak aloud, but Matt had heard it... he pulled her tighter "What did you say?" he breathed into her hair.

"I said, I only found you becaus of one simple avalanche" she could not help but smile contently.

"I know, kinda a big deal, huh?" his lips stroke her ear.

"Definately... and I would'nt have it any other way"

"Me neither"

Sharing a tender kiss, they both fell silent again, savouring their happiness, their luck, their togetherness.

At some stage in the far future they would be no longer alone but with kids, of that Leah was sure. When the point came she would stop phasing again. Then she would be able to bear children, to live a normal life, probably even pass on the wolf-gene. Having little puppies suddenly did not seem that bad anymore. With a werewolf for an imprint, they could live forever if they choose to...

So many options were open to them. Life would go it's way and Leah would gratefully take every twist ahead of her, because now she was no longer alone. She knew she could handle everything as long as Matt was with her.

She carefully turned around, pressing her lips on his. "I love you" she whispered.

He looked her deeply in the eyes "Love you more".

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Well, that's it!!! How did you like the ending? too fluffy? or ok? Tell me one last time, please!!! :)

And I have o say it once more - you reviewers were awsome, thanks so much!!! :D


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